Body-supported infant&#39;s chamber pot



May.24,-1949.

N. DE ARDORFF 2,471,201. BODY-SUPPORTED INF 'ANTS CHAMBER PO? Filed Jan.26, 1946 INVENTOR.

Afforrieys iatented May 24, 1949 UNITED STATES OFFICE BODY- SUPPORTEDINFANTS CHAMBER POT Neva R. Deardorif, New York, N. Y. ApplicationJanuary 2.6, 1946, Serial No. 643,568

2 Claims. 1

The invention relates generally to toilet utensils, and moreparticularly to a pottie for small infants.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel pottieparticularly useful for very young infants and arranged so that it maybe readily supported on an adults lap when in use by the infant.

More specifically, it is an object to provide a novel pottie providedwith laterally extending supporting members which are adapted to fitover and be supported by the legs of an adult when seated so that thepottie may be held between the knees without undue strain on the adultand the infant may be seated on the pottie and held in such positionwith comfort.

Another object is to provide a novel pottie provided with laterallyextending supporting mem bers adapted to be supported by the legs of anadult, when seated, with the pottie held between the knees, thesupporting members being provided with containers at the outer ends tohold toilet supplies, such as tissue, pins, talcum powder and the like.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view of a toilet utensil embodyingthe features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view showing the manner in which the device is held.

In the care of infants, the performance of the excretory functions of aninfant has frequently been provided for by the mother holding the usualtype of pottie between her knees and placing the infant thereon, much asif the infant were sitting on her lap. Such practice is commonly usedwhen the infant is too young to safely use a small seat placed on atoilet or where such small seat is not available.

Such practice, however, gives rise to some diniculty because of themuscular strain on the mother, if she attempts to hold the pottie inthis manner for more than a few minutes. This difficulty does not haveits effect on the mother alone, since an infant is highly susceptible toits mothers state of mind when being handled by her, and it is theaccepted view of pediatricians that an infant should be in a relaxedstate of mind, free from any tenseness, when being encouraged to performits functions. Thus, while the purpose of the practice is to encourageand teach the infant to perform its functions at selected times, itfrequently results in a condition adverse to such performance.

The present invention provides a pottie which permits holding the infantin the same manner. But it relieves the mother of all strain andconsequently permits her to remain in a relaxed state of mind beneficialto the infant in performing these functions. To this end, I provide areceptacle m which may have the general form of an ordinary pottie, butpreferably is oval rather than round, as is shown in Fig. 2, so that itmay .be placed between the mothers knees without causing them to bespread far apart. The receptacle it is provided with a flange 1 I onwhich the infant is seated. At the front end of the receptacle, a shield[2 may be provided, utilized to direct the urinary stream into thereceptacle, in the case of male infants.

To permit the receptacle It to be held without muscular strain, a pairof supports l3 are provided, extending laterally from the receptacle atthe upper part thereof and adapted to be rested on the mothers legsadjacent the knees, as shown in Fig. 4. Thus, the receptacle may besupported without the exertion of any muscular effort on the part of themother. Preferably, the supports iii are curved to fit over the legs andthus tend to remain in place so that the receptacle will be positionedbetween the knees.

The usefulness of the device may be increased by providing it with meansfor holding toilet supplies such as tissue, pins, talcum powder and thelike. Thus, the outer ends of the supports [3 may be provided with smallcontainers it for this purpose, the containers being accessible when theinfant is seated on the receptacle Iii. The containers It also assist inholding the device in place on the mothers legs since they extenddownwardly from the supports 13 at the outer sides of the legs andthereby aid in preventing the supports from slipping.

The device is preferably made in a one-piece construction of moldedplastic material. With such a construction, the shield I2 is formed onand extends upwardly from the flange ll, while the supports 13constitute extentions from the flange l I. The containers l4 similarlyconstitute the terminal portions of the supports it. The one-piececonstruction facilitates handling of the device, since it may be readilygrasped and manipulated by one of the supports l3.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a novelpottie construction adapted to be supported with the pottie orreceptacle between the mothers knees when the infant is seated thereon.By providing supports for the pottie, which merely rest on the motherslegs, the pottie is held in position without the physical straininvolved in attempting to clamp the ordinary pottie between her knees.The mother may thus carry on the operation with comfort and consequentlywill be inclined to give the infant sufiicient time to perform itsfunctions.

I claim:

1. A toilet utensil for an infant, comprising a generally oval vesselhaving an open top provided with a flange shaped for seating the infantthereon, and a pair of supporting members rigidly secured to theopposite sides of the vessel at the shorter diameter thereof andextending laterally from adjacent the top of the vessel, said membersbeing curved to fit comfortably over the legs of an adult, when seated,adjacent and above the knees, and having portions at the outer endsthereof extending downwardly to fit over the outer sides of the adultslegs to hold the supporting members in place, whereby said vessel may bereadily held between the adults knees when in use by the infant.

2. A toilet utensil for an infant, comprising a vessel having a flangedtop shaped for seating an infant thereon, a pair of supporting membersrigidly secured to opposite sides of said vessel and shaped to fit overthe legs of an adult, when seated, adjacent and above the knees wherebysaid vessel may be readily held between the adults knees, and a pair ofcontainers rigidly secured to the outer ends of the respectivesupporting members to hold toilet supplies, said container being adaptedto extend downwardly at the outer sides of the adults legs and therebyassist in holding the supports in place.

NEVA R. DEARDORFF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 239,193 Reseinski Mar. 22, 18811,978,871 Thuren Oct. 30,1934

